The Life of a Copyright
On August 23rd, 2021, stand-up comedian Caroline Timoney posted a TikTok video where she stated, “I fear I may have girl bossed a little too close to the sun.”[1] The video went viral and, to this day, it is her…
SoundExchange v. Sirius XM: A Battle on Two Fronts
Created by Cat Stagliano on Canva In the United States, when an artist’s sound recording or track is played by a servicer like Pandora or satellite radio,[1] a digital public performance royalty for the sound recording is collected by…
Music Executives from Universal Music Group Speak to Cardozo’s Entertainment Law Society
On Thursday, August 21, 2025, Cardozo’s Entertainment Law Society hosted a panel discussion with Jermaine “Maine” Maxwell (A&R at Def Jam, Universal Music Group), Shaniqua “Haarlem” Branch (VP of A&R at Republic Records, Universal Music Group), Trevor Casson (Senior Director…
Works in Progress: Is It Better to Say Sorry Than to Ask for (and Receive) Permission?
A recent legal dispute between singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman and rapper Nicki Minaj has shed light on an interesting issue in the field of copyright and music: whether musical artists “can be held liable for copyright infringement for works in progress”…
Cycling Through Litigation: The Ultimate Cost of Not Entering into Appropriate Sync Licensing Agreements
As fitness companies transform into entertainment companies, new licensing issues arise regarding music in an at-home work-out video versus music heard in an in-person gym class. Specifically, the usage of music in a gym class requires a public performance license…
COVID-19’s Toll on Independent Concert Venues
The fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic this past year has been economically devastating for nearly every industry and market, but it has hit the arts and entertainment sectors especially hard. The impacts of long-term lockdown and the resulting recession will…
We Survived 2020 and the Mechanical Licensing Collective is Now in Full Effect… But How Exactly Does it Work?
The music industry’s widely anticipated Mechanical Licensing Collective (“MLC”) officially went into effect at the beginning of January 2021. The MLC, which was created via the passage of the Music Modernization Act (“MMA”) in 2018, was created to administer a…
DACA and John Lennon, a Dreamer
Music legend John Lennon, former Beatles star, once sung the words “you may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.”[1] These words, which make up the chorus for one of his most famous songs, Imagine, have a…
Matal v. Tam Revisited
The Supreme Court’s ruling this past summer in Matal v. Tam was more than just a decision on the titles that could be used when registering one’s mark, it was also a vindication to those whom slurs have been used…
Taxstone and the American Justice System’s War Against Hip-Hop
The well-known podcast personality Daryl Campbell a.k.a. Taxstone was recently arrested on January 16, 2017 on federal charges of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon and Receipt of a Firearm in Interstate Commerce.[1] The arrest is related to…
DOJ v. BMI: The Fight over Consent Decrees and Fractional Licensing
In continuation of an ongoing battle, the Department of Justice has filed a notice that it will appeal the September 2016 decision by Judge Stanton which concluded that fractional licensing is allowed under the current Broadcast Music, Inc. (“BMI”) consent decree.[1] Back…
Making Music Accessible: Closed Captions in Light of California Court Ruling on The Duties of Film Studios
Is it unreasonable for deaf moviegoers to expect that song lyrics might be included in film captions and subtitles? On Wednesday, September 28, 2016, a California District court found that it was, when it granted summary judgment to a group…